How to Explain Leaving Your Job for Financial Reasons
Leaving your job and then explaining your reason for doing so to interviewers may strike you as an intimidating thing to have to do. Explaining that you left primarily for financial reasons can make the looming interview seem even more frightful. Fortunately, you're not the only person who has left his job for financial reasons, and companies have hired candidates who have left their jobs for the same reason. Sometimes it's not the fact that a candidate left a prior job but the reason for having done so that makes interviewers uneasy about hiring the candidate. Being straightforward about your reasons is the best way to alleviate a prospective employer's concerns.
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Instructions
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Write the description of your former job and your responsibilities in that job on your resume. Do not make note that you left your job for financial reasons. It's nontraditional and generally not encouraged to explain why you left a job on a resume. That information is better saved for the interview, and then only if the interviewer brings it up.
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Wait for the interviewer to ask you about your previous job and why you left. For the majority of the interview, the interviewer will ask you questions and you will answer. When answering questions about your experience, do not bring up details about leaving your previous job. The best way to avoid explaining your reasons is to not touch on the issue at all. However, most interviewers will ask.
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Explain yourself by carefully choosing your words. The way you say something will play a large role in how well it's received. Avoid a blunt and direct approach. Convey why you believe you performance should have generated higher pay, and tell any attempts you made to stay with the company. For example, you could say "I received excellent evaluations for three years in a row, but received only two nominal raises during that time. I believe my salary did not reflect my performance and, despite my attempts to explain my feelings with management, I was not given a raise. I chose to look elsewhere for employment."
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Back up your primary reason with secondary reasons, if applicable. While your primary reason for leaving your previous job was for financial reasons, you can strengthen your explanation by including secondary intentions. For example, in addition to financial reasons you might be seeking a new challenge, a new field or a new location.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't make it a personal issue. Do not express negative feelings for your previous employer.
